I’m irritated at her not telling me. Rationally, I know we had just started dating when Chase backed off, but still. Maybe if I’d known he was that obsessed, was that committed, maybe we would’ve caught on to this. Maybe.
“And you’re sure this is Chase, that your ex would do this?”
“He was livid that I wouldn’t take him back. Calling and texting multiple times a day. When he saw Aleks and me at Moira, I think he finally realized there was no coming back. So, he played his trump card.”
Jackson frowns. “Isn’t he some country club nepo baby? He seems too soft. How would he have even gotten these images?”
“I’ve told you multiple times, but no one listens to Parker,” Parker tuts. “Rich people. They don’t need to get their hands dirty when they can pay someone else. You shouldn’t doubt what they’re capable of.”
“You’re all rich,” Sydney points out.
“Exactly.” His expression goes dead serious.
“Alright, let’s see what we can do to stop this time bomb.”
We’re on the phone for hours. Sydney has to loop in our manager, who is none too happy to be called at 4 a.m. in New York. He’s even less happy when he hears of the situation. Our lawyers are woken up, Paige included, to comb through our contracts. We have to go over every contingency we have in place and run through every possible scenario, from the best of the best to the worst of the worst. Parker dives into Chase’s history, using his connections to dig up any clues or dirt we can use.
Stevie falls asleep around five in the morning. She tried to stay up, help out, but her battery’s wasted. She dealt with this demon for an entire night without us.
I carry her to our room, tucking her into bed.
“I’m sorry, Aleks,” she mumbles.
I kiss her forehead. “I told you, Stevie. Good days and bad days, we’re there for each other. I’ll never give up.”
I’ll fight tooth and nail to figure this out.
For her. For us. For the boys. For The System.
“Aleks,” Parker whispers, poking his head into my room, a twisted smile on his face. “Phoebe found something.”
“Oh?” My lips split into a joker’s grin.
If Chase thinks he has us cornered, he has another thing coming.
I’m Aleksander Knight, and I don’t lose.
It’s game on.
THIRTY-ONE
* * *
STEVIE
I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus then hit by a train and thrown off a cliff.
Basically, I feel like trash.
At least my eyes aren’t blown up anymore, the puffiness from my tears having gone down. I splash my face with more cold water. I’ve spent almost two days letting myself be eaten away by my emotions, surrendering to the pain, and becoming a shell of myself. I’m not going to let Chase affect me any more than he already has. I’m tougher than this, than him. I won’t let this destroy me. I won’t let this destroy Aleks, or any of the guys.
I open my makeup bag and begin painting on my armor. With each swipe of mascara, I strengthen. With every tap of blush, my resolve hardens. The first step to feeling good is looking good. I run a comb through my thick waves and give a half smile to myself in the mirror.
I can’t keep walking around in Aleks’ clothes, as much as I love them. I need to be an actual human. Opening our wardrobe, I pull my baby blue, rib-knit midi dress from its hanger. I roll the soft material onto my body, adjusting my boobs in the V neck. The straps are too thin to wear a bra with, but the slit only goes to mid-thigh, so it’s still pretty casual.
I look normal, good, but I still feel the kiss of death lingering.
I need caffeine. Lots of it.
When I push open the door, I’m startled by the sheer amount of people in the apartment. There’s at least twenty people milling about, but a blonde woman is in the process of ushering most of them out and into the elevator. I watch the procession until the last one leaves. They really called the cavalry in on this one.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty one?” The British accent rolls over me, and I realize the woman is one of Parker’s sisters, Phoebe, the one with the short hair. Her entire vibe is giving Charlize Theron with her black pantsuit, and it’s pretty badass. “Come, join the party.” She grabs my hand, tugging me along to the island where the guys are all sitting. Sydney, Parker’s other sister Paige, and two men I don’t recognize are talking out on the balcony.
“Your girlfriend’s up,” Phoebe announces, swinging into the kitchen. She slides a familiar take-out cup of coffee toward me as I hop onto the free stool next to Parker. I twist the green cup around and see the logo for Glass & Grass stamped on the side. A small spark of happiness glows in the dark waters of my chest. I sip on the cup of pure heaven. Coffee spreads into my system as I savor the mapley goodness.
“I got your favorite.” Aleks leans forward on the island to talk across Parker, smiling with a touch of cockiness.
“Thank you.” I return his grin and greedily devour the beverage.
“Here.” Parker nudges a pastry my way. “We ordered a bunch of food earlier to refuel.” My stomach growls, and I realize I haven’t eaten or drunk anything since the day before. I scarf it down without a second thought.
We’re all just sitting in silence, the guys tapping away on their phones. The elephant looms in the room, a dark cloud hovering at the edge of my consciousness. I swallow the last bite, and it sticks in my throat.
“So, where are we, you know, with the situation?”
“Plan A is underway; Plan B is prepped just in case,” Parker’s sister throws out, popping a melon ball in her mouth. The boys say nothing.
“What does that mean?”
“Means we have the situation sorted. Just need to let it play out now.” She says it so nonchalantly, like the whole situation doesn’t faze her.
“I’m lost.”
That doesn’t make any sense. How is that possible? But she doesn’t offer up any additional information, just smiles and eats another damn melon ball.
“Don’t worry, babe.” Aleks moves to stand beside me, resting his hand on my exposed thigh. The contact calms me. “Sydney has the check and is working with the security team to make sure all is sorted for tonight. Phoebe, here, is covering everything else. We’ve got this. Trust me.”
I purse my lips, turning everything over. I want to ask more questions, but as I look into Aleks’ eyes, all I see is pure exhaustion. Dark circles having made a home beneath his dull eyes, faint stubble peeking out on his jaw. Hell, everyone looks like walking death. I might have gotten a few hours of sleep, but I don’t think they’ve gotten any. Reluctantly, I let my questions drop.
“Alright, I trust you.”
“Fabulous.” Phoebe claps her hands. “Well, we have a few more hours before we need to leave. You lads should get some rest beforehand. There’s nothing more you can do until then, and you all look like shit.”
“Rude,” Parker yawns, “but I am knackered.” He slips off his stool and slinks off to his room.
Aleks squeezes my thigh. “Want to come back to bed?”
I’m tempted, but I’m too wired, so I shake my head. “I’ll just stay out here, find something to distract myself with.”